Dispute Over Mask Ends with Multiple Stabbings of Apple Store Security Guard in New York

A security guard at an Apple Store in New York City was stabbed following a dispute with a customer regarding the store's policy requiring face masks to be worn due to COVID-19 before entering. According to ABC New York, the 37-year-old security guard asked the customer to wear a mask to enter the store, before the discussion escalated into violence, resulting in the guard being stabbed multiple times. Investigator Sophia Mason, spokesperson for the Deputy Commissioner for Public Information, stated that the suspect had already left the scene by the time the police arrived. The suspect's name is unknown, and Mason reported that the guard told the police he was "stabbed once in his left arm and once in his forehead with a knife." New York City requires customers to follow store guidelines if they are asked to wear masks indoors, regardless of their vaccination status. Additionally, another mandatory order that began this week requires thousands of hospital and nursing home workers to get vaccinated. Many countries around the world are experiencing disputes over the mandatory wearing of masks, and last month, a young employee at a gas station in Germany was shot dead by an enraged customer who was asked to wear a mask.